Safe vehicle body



Nov. 23, 1965 P. GRAHAM SAFE VEHICLE BODY 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept.27, 1962 FIG. 6

FIG. 3

INVENTOR.

FIG.5

Y nl

ATTORNEY Nov. 23, 1965 P. GRAHAM SAFE VEHICLE BODY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Sept. 27, 1962 FIG.

FIG. 9

25b INVENTOR. 25

f Phil/1J0 Graham g ATTORNEY Nov. 23, 1965 P. GRAHAM SAFE VEHICLE BODY 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 27, 1962 FIG. l6

FIG. l5

r o m mm s i m 5 I F G e F s W 2 C 9 ENE. wvwwwm United States Patent3,219,384 SAFE VEHICLE BODY Phillip Graham, 2825 Glenrnore Ave.,Pittsburgh, Pa. Filed Sept. 27, 1962, Ser. No. 226,623 2 Claims. (Cl.296-23) This invention relates to a safe vehicle body, such as acushiona'ble automobile body and the like, that has a yieldable shell orbumper portion, also yieldable cover portions including the roof, hoodand trunk lid that can yield to cushion impacts caused by the coverportions striking a roadway during roll over accidents. The body,according to the present invention, will yield and rebound withoutpermanent deformation from the impacts of most minor collisions, whichimpacts would severely damage conventional automobile bodies. Under moreviolent colliding forces, the body will be permanently deformed to alimited extent while gradually yielding in absorbing and diverting theviolent collision forces. The yielding is controlled to an extent so asto prevent severe deformation of the occupants compartment. Thus thesafe body would be expendable to protectively cushion the occupants ofthe conveyance.

This invention is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending applicationsSerial No. 857,187, filed December 3, 1959, entitled Safe Vehicle Body,now Patent No. 3,056,- 627, and Serial No. 721,150, filed March 13,1958, entitled Curved Vehicle Bumper, now Patent No. 3,056,- 462.Applicant also claims rights to earlier filing dates to common subjectmatter that is described in the present application, which was alsodescribed in his application Serial No. 557,938, filed January 9, 1956,entitled Safe Conveyance Body, now Patent No. 2,916,- 324, andapplication Serial No. 449,695, filed August 13, 1954, entitled CurvedBarrier, now Patent No. 2,826,- 788. The copending applications SerialNo. 857,187 and Serial No. 721,150 were continuation-in-partapplications of application Serial No. 557,938. The copendingapplication Serial No. 721,150 was a continuation-impart of applicationSerial No. 449,695, until the continuationin-part claim was deleted in1962 when the specification of application was largely deleted torestrict it to bumpers. While this type of safe vehicle body would bemost useful for vehicles, such as automobiles, it may also be used forbicycles, scooters, trucks, buses, trailers, planes, small boats, andother vehicles. The term automobile, as used in the specification andclaims, does not exclude automobiles and scooters having three wheels.

Common automobile bodies that are involved in violent collisions failWithout adequately cushioning the severe collision forces. Mostconventional automobile bumpers do not materially cushion impacts. Suchbumpers act as battering rams against objects they strike, or they actas armor plate against vehicles that strike them. After suchconventional bumpers fail from a diagonal collision thrust, theremainder of the body portions adjacent to the bumper deforms to a greatextent without providing much resistance to the thrust. The collisionforces are absorbed by the action of crumpling and tearing of the steelmembers of the automobile, which causes excessive deformation towardsthe occupants positions and creates inadequate cushioning action. Theautomobile body, including the bumpers, fails locally and almostinstantly at the point of impact since the body does not have the meansto spread the initial impact force into a much larger portion of thebody. Generally, the occupants of common automobile bodies are killed orinjured when the automobile body fails to an extent that the occupantscompartment is penetrated by failing members, including the motor andthe lower portion of the steering column. The common automobile body hasvery little resistance against violent collision forces that strike itbroadside.

An automobile body embodying the principles of the present inventionoffers a great degree of protection against the violent forces ofcollisions in which it is involved, since it will yield and cushion ordivert the violent impacts. The vehicle body will rebound from mostrninor collision impacts. The body has means to yieldingly resist moreviolent collision forces by progressively yielding while resisting, andthen collapsing in steps to absorb and cushion the force-also means todivert some of the force downwardly into the roadway which absorbs itwhen a portion of the body flattens and strikes the roadway. The bumperport-ion of the body has spike means to engage the roadway duringflattening to absorb force by friction or gouging -of the roadway. Thespikes also restrain the vehicle from moving laterally, particularlybouncing into adjoining trafiic lanes. Furthermore, there is means todivert some of the collision force upwardly, which diversion absorbssome of the force by lifting the adjacent portion of the automobile,which lifting tends to hurl the portion upwardly. Grappling hooks on thebumper portion would engage an opposing vehicle during a collision, andtend to raise the adjacent portion of the opposing vehicle, to expendforce by the lifting or quick jacking action, rather than to allow theforce to be expended in deforming the safe vehicle body. The grapplingbooks have spikes to snag to and remain engaged to guard rails, guardcable fences, guard walls and curbs, to restrain the vehicle frombouncing or rising above such guards. The vehicle portion adjacent thepoint of impact against a guard cable it engages would tend to rise toan extent and stretch the cable.

The safe vehicle body can bounce away from objects it sideswipesso it issafe to use on narrow traffic lanes.

The safe vehicle body has means to cause collision forces to be greatlyexpended in deforming outer portions of the body to a great degree toprevent the occupants compartment from being deformed to a dangerousdegree.

The safe vehicle 'body embodying the principles of the presentinvent-ion acts as a unit in resisting and yielding to cushion andprotect the occupants, because there is continuity in the arrangement ofthe body members so the collision force can be spread widely through thestructure to bring much of the body into play. The vehicle body,exclusive of the chassis portion of the body, can effectively transmitconsiderable thrusts longitudinally of the vehicle, thus reducing thetendency of collision forces to deform the chassis.

The safe vehicle body can provide considerable protection from acollision thrust at any angle, whereas most conventional bumpers offerlittle protection from a collision at an angle. Automobiles are usuallyveered just before a collision when the operator tries to avoid acollision, thus the safe vehicle body provides the needed protection.

The safe vehicle body provides means to effectively resist and cushioncollision thrusts that occur higher than common bumpers, thus providingneeded protection that other types of automobile bodies lack. Suchprotection is needed against possible collisions with large trucks, andparticularly against rear end collisions against trailer trucks. Commonautomobile bodies offer no protection when they collide with the rear ofa trailer, because the automobile roof is sheared off by its contactwith the lower overhanging portion of the trailer and the trailer axleis too high for conventional bumpers to contact. The high front portionof the safe vehicle body can contact and cushion again-st the axle,while the strong top of the body can contact and cushion against theoverhanging portion of the trailer body.

The safe vehicle body described in the present application provides moreprotection than can be provided with the bumper-like curved barrierdescribed in my co-pending application Serial No. 721,150, filed March15, 1958, entitled Curved Vehicle Bumper. Unlike the safe body, thecurved bumper does not have spikes to snag into the roadway to expendforce by gouging and friction action against the roadway. Furthermore,the bumper does not have to have hooked portions on grappling hooks toengage and hold the body to guard rails and the like.

The safe vehicle body described in the present application is animprovement over the safe vehicle body de scribed in my copendingapplication Serial No. 857,187. The improved body has spikes to engageand gouge the roadway, also improved grappling hooks to hold the vehicleto guard rail cables and the like to prevent the vehicle from bouncing.

The safe vehicle body described in the present application has highlycushionable cover portions, which include the roof, hood, and trunk lid,that would provide more security than the curved barrier roof meansdescribed in my Patent No. 2,826,788, which was application Serial No.449,695. The improved body has cover portions whose side edge portionsinclude means to allow the edges to yield to a great extent towards themajor portion of a vehicle to cushion impacts against the side edgesduring a rollover accident.

The safe vehicle body of the present invention provides a means to makea relatively small automobile much safer so that it can furnish a higherdegree of protection for the occupants during a collision. Smallautomobiles are considered to be hazardous since they can be crushed incollisions with larger vehicles that roll over them. The safe body meanswould be particularly useful for a small automobile and small trucksthat have their occupants compartment very close to the front of thevehicles. The safe body means causes the collision impact force todeform the body to a lesser degree towards the occupants, thus tendingtoprevent deformation of the occupants compartment on a smallautomobile. The lifting action of a collision impact tends to raise asmall vehicle enough so an opposing larger vehicle pushes it aside orbackwards rather than to roll over it. There is great need for means tomake small automobiles safe, since such vehicles would be more practicalfor much of the transportation needs that exist today, particularlysince they are lower in cost to build and operate and they require lessspace for parking.

The short depth of allowable deformation of the safe vehicle bodyadjacent the collision impact point causes a high degree of decelerationof the vehicle and the occupants. A vehicle with a safe body may havevehicle occupant safety barriers mounted in it to provide a much higherdegree of protection than can be had by mounting common seat belts inthe safe body. Such barriers are described in my copending applicationSerial No. 97,658, filed Mar-ch 2 2, 1961, now Patent No. 3,129,017, andmy Patents No. 2,977,135; No. 2,827,- 305; and No. 2,826,788. Thebarriers restrain the occupants from being hurled by momentum againstthe rigid portions of the vehicle confronting them.

An object of my invention is to provide a vehicle body having abumper-like portion that will cushion, absorb, or divert violentcollision forces and restrain the body from bouncing or leaping oversafety guard rails and the like, thus preventing injury to the occupantsof the vehicle body as well as to prevent or reduce the damage to thevehicle and the element with which it collides. The body beingexpendable to safeguard the occupants from violent collision forces,causes portions of the vehicle body to collapse after they havecushioned and absorbed much of the forces.

Another object of my invention is to provide a safe top cover portionfor a vehicle body that will cushion and absorb violent accident impactforces against it including those caused by the vehicle body strikingthe roadway when the vehicle rolls over, the cushioning protecting theoccupants of the vehicle and tending to prevent excessive damage to thevehicle.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a safe hood and/ortrunk lid for a vehicle body that will cushion and absorb violentaccident impact forces against it, including those form a roll-overaccident.

Other objects of my invention will become more apparent from thefollowing description taken with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary plan view of an automobile;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view taken along line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary elevational View taken along line 3-3 ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, sectional, elevational view taken along line-44 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, sectional, plan view taken along line 55 ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along line -66 of FIGURE2;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 77 of FIGURE2;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 88of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIGURE8;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 1010' ofFIGURE 8;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary, sectional view similar to FIGURE 8, butshowing a portion of the automobile body flattened by a collision withan object;

FIGURE 12 is an enlarged, fragmentary, elevational view taken from theexterior or convex side of the body shell;

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged, fragmentary, elevational view taken from theconcave side of the ribs and body shell;

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 14-14 ofFIGURE 12;

FIGURE 15 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional View taken along line1515 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 16 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken along line16-16 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 17 is a fragmentary, sectional, plan view taken through a bumperpad;

FIGURE 18 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view similar to thelower portion of FIGURE 8, showing the arrangement at the base of adoor;

FIGURE 19 is a fragmentary, sectional view similar to FIGURE 14, showinga modification with a skin on the platsic shell;

FIGURE 20 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view similar to the topportion of FIGURE 8, showing a modification which does not have an outershell;

FIGURE 21 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view similar to thebottom portion of FIGURE 8, showing a modification which does not havean outer shell;

FIGURE 22 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional View similar to FIGURE14, showing a modification which has a corrugated sheet metal outershell;

FIGURE 23 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 2323 ofFIGURE 22;

FIGURE 24 is an elevational view showing a safe body for a motorscooter.

The automobile illustrated in the drawings has a yieldable slightlyresilient body. Broadly stated, the automobile body in accordance withthe present invention consists of bowed plastic shell portions withyieldable ties across the chords of the bows. Collision impacts causethe bowed shells to yield by flattening partially, and the yieldableties to yield by stretching until the forces are absorbed, or diverted.Yieldable ties and the like that yield to absorb forces of the impactsare yieldable force absorbing means which include highly resilientsprings that tend to rebound and less resilient members that yield to alarge degree but permanently deform when highly stressed by impactforces. The automobile body shell of slightly resilient plastic isshaped and positioned to obtain optimum cushioning effect and strengthwhen used with a small amount of metal. The plastic shell may have fiberglass strands impregnated in it to strengthen it.

The shell of the body is confined to maintain highly eflicient arched orbowed shapes. The bowed shapes act as arched compression members sincethey yield and flatten partially in cushioning collision impacts. Whilethe shell is flattening partially, the collision impact force isdiverted and spread over a greater portion of the body so the force canbe resisted by the large portion of the body that is brought into play,to thus slow down the momentum gradually by absorbing the forcesgradually. There are yieldable spring ties across the chords of thebowed shell sections that yield to an extent and absorb much of theviolent force. There are ribs that can yieldably flatten as they help tomaintain arched shapes of the shell portions as they partially flatten.The confined arched shapes are used to obtain optimum load carryingefficiency of the material used.

The automobile body that is illustrated is substantially symmetricalabout its longitudinal axis and its transverse axis, except that thedoors are off center and other minor differences that are obvious. Theautomobile body is shaped to provide an efficient functional structure.The body members are shaped and combined so as to provide continuity tothe automobile body so the body as a unit can act to cushion and resistcollision impacts. The ends and the sides of the automobile body havethe highly yieldable and resilient features to cause cushioning actionsfrom collision impacts, also to a more limited degree, these featuresare incorporated into horizontal cover portions, which may be the top,the hood, and the trunk lid. The arched shape of the front and rear ofthe automobile body is shown as being of substantially identicalstructural features since head-on collisions and rearend collisions ofintense magnitude are frequent occurrences. The yieldable roof, hood,and trunk lid are useful safeguards when an automobile rolls over. Theoverhanging edge of the roof is resilient which allows it to cushion athrust against it. The hood and the trunk lid are sloped downwardly andoutwardly to allow the driver more visibility of the roadway, also toform a stronger shaped automobile body.

As shown in FIG. 8, the bow of the shell or skin 1 and the like have alarge width bow or middle ordinate which provides a considerabledistance in which the shell can flatten to yield and cushion the impactforce. Although this width of the bow is greater than the widths of bowson common sheet metal automobile bodies, the wide bowed shell can beused in the sides of atuomobiles without increasing the width of thevehicle or without sacrificing functional features. Most of the commonautomobiles made today have body widths that are wider than they need tobe. Such wide bodies allow excess seat space into which the occupantscan slide or be thrown when the vehicle veers. Occupants must berestrained with safety belts or cushionable safety barriers to preventthe momentum from hurling them towards the compartment walls during acollision, so the excess seat space is a hazard, particularly so when itis estimated that over fifty percent of the injuries sustained invehicle collisions could be eliminated by restraining the occupants withbelts and/or cushionable safety barriers.

The forward plastic shell section 1 and the rear shell section 2 aresubstantially identical. The bumper pads 6 3 may be fastened to theshell 1 to engage common bumpers of other automobiles and the likeduring collisions to act as a buffer, and as a means to spread theimpact over a greater area of the shell. Thus the pads 3 tend to preventthe puncturing of the shell 1.

The door 4- coacts with the adjacent body members to maintain continuityof stress carrying features to distribute the collision forces to agreater section of the body. The roof shell 5 is yieldable to cushionimpacts on it when the automobile rolls over, or when the edge of theroof is struck during a collision. The hood shell 6 and the trunk lidshell 7 are slightly yieldable to allow them to yield under impacts ontheir convex surfaces, such as during roll-overs. The hood 6 and the lid7 securely engage adjoining body members to brace and tie the bodytogether, so that collision thrusts can be spread widely into the bodystructure until enough structure is brought into play to absorb thethrusts. The trunk lid 7 acts during a collision against the rear of thevehicle like the hood 6 acts during a collision against the front of thevehicle. The hood 6 and the trunk lid 7 in combination with adjacentside portions of the body can transmit great momentum forcelongitudinally during a crash so the chassis is not subjected to thewhole momentum force, since the whole momentum force would tend tobuckle the chassis.

Channel members 8a and 8b are curved in length to a horseshoe-likeshape. They are members that take impact thrusts from the upper portionof the vertical bowed shell sections. Channels 9 are periphery chassismembers, which support the lower portion of the vertical bowed shellsections. The channels 9 may have brackets 9a welded to them to providemeans to mount pivotal links or braces 9b. The braces 9b restrain theshell 1 from buckling when it is flattened to an extent under acollision impact as shown in FIG. 11. The rigid roof framing members10a, 10b, and 10c are rigidly supported by the posts 11a and 11b. Thecenter rib-like posts 12a and 1211 may be portions of a yieldable archedrib that is incorporated into the roof structure. The yieldable archedrib yields with the roof shell during roll-overs, to act as a cushion.The cross members 13a and 13b may support the ends of the posts 12a and12b. The members 13a and 13b are supported by the channels 8a and 8b.

The center rib-like posts 12a and 12b are not highly objectionable as totheir blocking vision since the center window areas are often obscured,preventing viewing through them during the worst driving conditions,such as during rain, and snow storms, as the Windshield wipers do notclean these areas.

The door latches 14 may be made similar to those used on fireproof vaultdoors. The latches 14 are supported by framing on the interior sides ofthe doors 4. Mud guards 15 may be made of highly elastic plastic orrubber, which do not restrain the body from being depressed inwardlyunder impacts. Snow, ice, and mud tend to break loose from the elasticguards 15 since the guards flex from vibration and jolts of theautomobile on roadways. The mud guards l5 flex to cushion the forces ofcrushed stones, cinders, and the like that are thrown against them bythe wheels. Also, the plastic eliminates the noise of such matterstriking the guards. Furthermore, the guards yield and cushion theforces from broken tire chains and eliminate noise from the pounding ofsuch broken chains. The guards 15 would not deteriorate rapidly fromchemical action of cinders, salt, and soil.

The ceiling of the vehicle body may have a curved ceiling panel 16 thatcan flatten to yield and cushion an occupant who is thrown against itduring a roll-over accident and the like. The panel 16 may be omittedwhen the occupants are restrained with seat belts and/or safetybarriers. The motor 17 and other members in the lower portion of theautomobile are shown by the dot-dash outline in FIGURE 5.

A modified automobile having a safe body that would have its motor inthe rear portion and the trunk in the front portion of the vehicle wouldbe stronger to provide more protection against a head-on collision, asthe channel 9 would be braced by the trunk bottom.

As shown in FIGURE 8, the wire spring tie 18 forms a resilient tieacross the chord line of the shell 1. Wire fasteners 19 fasten the topand bottom edges of the shell 1 to the retainers. The tie 18 is fastenedto the reinforcing wire 20c and 20d in the bulb-like edgings of theshell 1. The Wire 20d is spirally coiled to allow it to yield locally.As shown in FIGURES 8, 12, 13 and 14, the shell 1 has a wire grid 20encased in it with the Wires positioned horizontally and vertically atright angles to each other. A second similar grid 20a may besuperimposed on the grid 20 and may be fastened to it where the gridscontact each other. The grid wires may be fused together in welding sothe joint of intersecting wires is flattened to one thickness. The wiresin the grid 20a are positioned forty-five degrees from those in the grid20. The plastic of the shell may have fiber glass reinforcing, inaddition to the grid wires. The wire grids effectively restrain theshell 1 from shearing, tearing and cracking from minor forces-thus alarge portion of the shell is made to act as a unit to absorb and resistcollision forces. The wire grids are members that resist tension andshear. The wire in the grids may be flat to allow them to bend morereadily when subjected to compressive forces.

As shown in FIGURE 8, a retainer bar 21a is welded to the channel 8a.The retainer bar 21b is riveted to the channel 811. The retainer barsform a socket-like recess to engage and securely hold the bulb-like topedging of the shell 1. The bar 21b is also a bearing bar for the upperend of the top yieldable shaft or rib 27b. The tie-post 22 is attachedat its bottom to the channel 9 and its top is attached to the resilientsteel bar 23 and the limit bolt 24. This type of tie and support allowsthe hood 6 and the trunk lid 7 to yield and cushion the shock of animpact on their top surface during roll-overs. The bar 23 and the bolt24 prevent the channel 8a and adjoining parts from rising when an impacton the side of the shell 1 tends to raise the upper portion of theautomobile body. The bar 23 is yieldable downwardly but not upwardly. Asshown in FIGURES 8, l0, and 11, the sliding retainer 25 takes the thrustfrom the lower edge of the shell 1. The retainer 25 can slide down thetie-post 22 as the shell 1 is spread in flattening under an impact.

The contact surfaces of the retainer 25 may be thinly coated withresilient plastic to eliminate chattering noise from vibration and roadshocks. The retainer 25 may be tack welded lightly to channel 9 torestrain the shell and ties from flexing slightly from vibration androad shocks. This would eliminate squeaks and chattering noises. Suchlight tack welds would break readily when collision forces acted on theshell. Retainer bars 25a are short members that are fastened to theretainers 25. The bar 25a grips the lower bulb-like edging of the shell1 and acts as a bearing bar for the end of the lower rib 27a. Theretainer shoes 2512 may be fastened to retainers 25 to provide aslightly yieldable surface which evenly strikes and grips the roadway38.

The spoke-like radial ties 26 may be used to restrain the shell 1 frombulging outwardly when the shell is struck during a collision. The ties26 are fastened to the grid wires in the shell 1 and to the tie post 22.The ties 26 do not materially prevent the shell 1 from excessivelybulging inwardly under a localized impact that tends to destroy thearched shape of the shell 1.

Yieldable shafts or ribs 27a, 27b, 28a and 28b may be used to maintainan arched shape to the shell 1 during a collision until the arched bowedshape is flattened just short of the state of collapsing. The wires 26may be used with the ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 28b, or either the ribs orthe tie wires may be used solely to restrain or confine the shell 1 tomaintain a substantially bowed shape.

shell, thus they are efliciently used. The ribs 27 and 28 '8 may yieldunder an impact, while maintaining pressure on the shell 1 to maintainan arched shape to the flattening shell. The adjoining rib tips 3112 onribs 27a, 27b, 23a, and 28b are shaped to limit the flattening and thebowing of the rib assembly.

The shell 1 may have rib-like portions 1a and 1b to stiffen the shelland to provide more thickness around the wires of the grids 20 and 20a,to thus increase the shells resistance against the tendency of the gridwires to rip out of the shell during an impact. There is a wire gridsystem 29 that links the ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 28b together. The ribspivot with these grid wires acting as hinges when the shell area bearingagainst them flattens during a collision. There is a hole at theintersection of the wires in the grid 29 to allow the wire 26 to projectthrough it. The wires of the grid 29 may be fused together and beflattened and pierced While hot to form this type of intersection. Thehole in the grid has a loose fit with the wire 26 to allow the wire toslide slightly when the body fiattends and a portion of the shell 1spreads to the extent that the wire 26 is bent at the shell.

The offsets 30 on the wires 26 tend to hold the ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and28b close to the shell 1. Since the length of the arc of the shell 1tends to become equal to that of the rib assembly as the members spreadand flatten, there is compensating means to allow this fluctuation. Theshell 1 shortens to an extent when it is compressed by an impact. Theribs 27a and 27b may have rib tips 31a attached to engage the retainerbars 21b and 25a. The rib tips 31a may have spring portions to allow therib system to gradally lengthen to compensate for the fluctuation. Therib tips 31a and 3111 may be made of metal to allow their small bearingareas to withstand the pressures. The ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 2812 mayhave limit eyes similar to those shown for the horizontal rib sections32. The horizontal rib sections 32 at the front and rear of theautomobile may have limit eyes 32a to allow limited yielding when thearched length of the shell 1 flattens partially. The intermediateportion of the width of the shell 1 in the horizontal arcs of the frontand rear of the body are highly compressed by front or rear collisionimpacts. The resilient plastic shell is compressible to a small degree.The horizontal ribs 32 have this limit means to allow the ribs to yieldto a limit that maintains an arched shape that can resist forces furtherwithout materially yielding, unless very violent forces are not absorbedwholly and such forces cause the shell to rupture and collapse.

The spring tie sheets 33 may be made of high carbon steel to act assprings in the tie system to absorb thrusts that were diverted from thecollision impact area into the arch. The sheets 33 have corrugations toallow them to flex. The spring 33 straightens under severe collisionimpacts and then rebounds to its original shape after the force isreleased. Sheets 33 may be pulled apart to absorb force after they havereached their limit of deflection. New sheets 33 could be readilyattached to replace the sheets that are pulled apart. Sheets 33 areshown as short members spanning between retainers 25. The sheets 33 areshort so the shell 1 can deflect locally. Sheets 33 may be made of lessresilient steel that permanently deforms when stretched, which sheetsabsorb collision forces in stretching and possibly breaking. The tiesheet 34 is fastened to the channel 8a, the tie post 22, and the sheets33. It also securely engages the upper edging of the shell 1. The bottomof the spring 33 securely engages the lower edging of the shell 1. Atthe upper portion of sheet 34 are two corrugations that may yield duringa roll-over since the tie system can yield downwardly from impactsabove. The sheet 34 may be highly resilient to allow a reboundingaction. Sheets 33 and 34 act as an inner shell. Sheet 35 is a corrugatedstiffener that may be used, particularly around the front and around therear of the automobile body, where its arched shape resists a greatcompressive force to absorb much of a collision force before the archcolwould tend to fracture by tearing where they are snagged onto theopposing vehicle.

When the impacted portion of a safe vehicle body is raised by the shell1 flattening under a collision impact against a truck and the like, thesafe vehicle is pushed backwards or aside by the heavy truck, thustending to prevent the truck from riding over top of it and crushing it.

When spikes 25f are driven into the roadway 38, they restrain the safevehicle from moving laterally. The spikes 25 would gouge out the roadwayif a great momentum caused the safe vehicle to keep moving duringcollision engagement to another vehicle. Such gouging would absorb aconsiderable amount of collision force. When the spikes 25f snag andgouge, they would slow down or stop the safe vehicle; thus they wouldprevent the vehicle from bouncing into adjacent trafiic lanes wheremoving vehicles could collide with it. The snagged spikes 25 would alsorestrain an opposing vehicle having a greater momentum from pushing thesafe vehicle backwards. Much of the great momentum force from such anopposing vehicle would be diverted through the safe body and the spikes25 into the roadway. The snagging of spikes 25 to an icy road during acollision would greatly reduce the tendency of the vehicles to skid outof control.

The vehicle body members shown in FIGS. 8 and 11 are combined so theyare forced to act to a very high degree of efliciency to divert andabsorb intense impact forces before they are ruptured. During a veryviolent head-on collision, the spreading and lifting elfect tends tobend up the whole front of the automobile, including everything from thehood 6 down to the front wheel springs. The collision force deforms thearched members 8a, 9, 34, 35, and the shell 1, and causes them tocollapse after bending. The hood 6 acts as a tie across the chord of thearch of channel 8a. The motor 17 acts as a tie across the chord of thechannel 9. These tied arches are very strong types of structures,therefore they can resist great collision forces that tend to deformthem. When collision forces are so great that they buckle the tiedarches, much force is spent in deforming these members. The bending andlifting action absorbs considerable force.

The bending tends to deform the laterally arched shape of the front ofthe automobile so the latter portion of the colliding force tends tocrush it. Thus the front of the automobile body could be almostcompletely destroyed to cushion and absorb the violent forces, while theportion of the automobile body housing the occupants remains intact.Since the motor is fastened to the channel 9, when the channel 9 bendsup, it tilts the motor 17. Thus the motor 17 will be tilted up on endduring a very violent crash, rather than being pushed directly back intothe occupants compartment. This means to raise the motor is an advantagenot possible with common automobiles. During some violent collisions,the motors of common automobiles are pushed back as far as the rearseats, which causes the killing or maiming of the occupants. Therefore,the collision impact force is, in general, largely diverted downwardlyand upwardly, tending to prevent rupturing of the vehicle body portionthat closely confronts the occupants. When the uplifting action isprogressing, the lateral forces compress the arched front of theautomobile body. When the various strains cause breakage, the frontportion of the body tends to gradually collapse and be crushed if theremaining force is great enough to cause that action. When the shellspreads downwardly and one or more shoes 25b, its spike means 25 andportions of the shell edging bear or snag into the roadway 38,particularly a black-top type roadway, the bracing 9b and the intensebearing engagement to the roadway tends to prevent the lower adjacentportion of the shell 1 from failing inwardly, thus tending to maintain alateral arched shape to the front of the automobile body.

The automobile body members may be proportioned so the ties 18 and 33will reach their limit of deflection and resist the impact force untilthey are ruptured by being pulled apart just short of the position wherethe lower edge of the shell 1 contacts the roadway 38. The ties 18 maybe proportioned so they will reach their limit of deflection and break,before the ties 33 reach their deflection limit. Thus, the ties could bebroken to absorb considerable force and prevent a violent rebound fromthe colliding object 37. When the ties are broken, shoes 25b, spikes 25and a portion of the lower edge of the body shell structure strikes andbears against the roadway 38.

The automobile body members may be proportioned so the surface of theroadway 38 acts as a limit for the spreading of the shell 1, the springshaving deflection latitude past the roadway limiting means. When thevehicle is heavily loaded, the springs with which the vehicle body ismounted are deflected to a great degree causing the lower portion of theshell 1 and the like to be positioned closer to the roadway 38. During acollision, the deflected vehicle body causes the shell 1 to flatten lessbefore it strikes the roadway 38, which causes more jacking movement bythe shell flattening action. This additional high velocity jackingmovement would tend to hurl the front portion of the heavy vehicleupwardly before the momentum of the rear portion of the vehicle hascompressed the length of the vehicle body to the extent that themomentum is transmitted to the front portion of the vehicle. Therefore,when the vehicle strikes a wall or the like, the front portion of thevehicle can be forced upwardly, allowing the rear of the vehicle to movetowards the wall. The rear tires and springs would then cushion the rearof the vehicle against the wall. The pointed grappling hooks 27d and 28dwould tend to gouge the wall and absorb much of the lifting force, thuslimiting the lifting of the vehicle.

When the safe body strikes a guard rail or barrier 37b, the shell 1would flatten and dig into the soft roadway shoulder, thus causinglittle lifting action and little tendency of the vehicle to leap overthe guard rail. All the grappling hooks 27d and 28d would act to catchand hold to plate or cable type guard rails. There is also a grapplinghook-like projection 250 on the retainer 25 that tends to catch a guardrail cable and the like if the shell 1 flattens and the vehicle tends toleap over the guard rail. The upward pressure on the various grapplinghooks would stretch guard rail cables upwardly and absorb some collisionforce, besides restraining the vehicle from lifting. The outer end ofeach grappling hook 25c, 27d, and 28d has a chisel point which wouldtend to snag plate type guard rails and stone walls that they collidewith. The grappling hooks may have hardened steel tips so they canpierce common plate guard rails and other obstructions, such as utilitypoles, trees, and the like that they would strike during a collision.The grappling hooks are shaped so they would tend to remain snagged toguard rail cables and plates. The snagging would restrain the vehiclefrom bouncing aside into the paths of other moving vehicles. When thevehicle strikes a guard rail cable or plate at an angle, the grapplinghooks merely hook onto the cable or plate, which allows the vehicle tomove along parallel to the guard, as the hooks prevent the vehicle frombouncing back into trafiic lanes.

The automobile body may be desiged so the shell 1 does not spread downas far as the roadway. This type of arrangement would be more limited indiverting and absorbing collision forces. It would be suitable for usein districts that have sand or dirt roads. Such roads could not absorbmuch striking force of the shell 1 or cause much lifting action.

lapses. Sheets 35 are fastened, such as by welding, to tie sheet 34 toprevent it from flattening or spreading in width. A seal 35 at the hood6 bears against the shell 1. Highly compressible insulation 39, such asfoam plastic or fiber glass, may be placed in the segmental spacebetween the shell 1 and its chord line. It would act as a cushioningmeans and as an insulation. The front of the automobile body shell hasperforations to allow air to pass through to reach and cool the motor.Resilient tubes 40 attached to these openings pass through the steel tiesheet 34.

The bowed shell 1 is shown tilted. This tilting of the bow allows a lowimpact against bumpers on another vehicle or against a guard rail tocause the shell 1 to deflect with a flattening action. If the bow of theshell were not tilted, an impact close to the bottom of shell 1, such asthat from object 37, would cause breakage of the shell rather than thepartial flattening and cushioning action. Since the center of gravity ofa loaded common automobile is above the axles during a very violenthead-on crash, a common automobile tends to nose down. The front of thesafe automobile body tends to rise when it strikes low against acolliding object, such as object 37 shown in FIGURE 8. The impact forceis diverted into the arch of the shell 1, which spreads the chord of theshell as it flattens partially under the thrust. The impact force isdiverted downwardly towards the roadway and upwardly, which tends tolift the adjacent portion of the automobile body. The lifting action canabsorb a great amount of force in lifting a portion of the automobilewith its occupants. Thus, force is expended in the lifting action,rather than allowing it to deform and break automobile body members. Ifthe impact force lifts an end of the automobile off the roadway, theautomobile tires will cushion the fall after the force has been expendedin the lifting action. When the automobile noses up, the occupants areforced down in their seats to an extent if they are held to their seatswith the barrier B or common safety belts. When the shell 1 is struckhigh above its center by object 37a, there is less force absorbed in thelifting action than from the force of an object 37.

When automobiles traveling at high velocities collide, their momentumscreate collision forces of great magnitude. To safeguard the automobileoccupants as much as possible, additional safety means can be used tosafely cushion, divert, and absorb these violent forces. The safetybarriers, such as those described in my patents No. 2,977,135, No.2,826,788, and No. 2,827,305, may be used in the interiors ofautomobiles to cushion the occupants of automobiles during collisions. Asafety barrier B is shown in the forward portion of the interior of theautomobile. The interiors of automobiles may also be padded where thebarriers do not furnish cushioning means.

During very violent collisions, the automobile body must yield graduallyto adequately cushion collision impacts to protect the occupants. Theyielding must be limited so the occupants compartment remains intact andit is not penetrated by failing portions of the automobile. The moreviolent collision impacts against the automobile body will tear, buckle,and crush portions of the body. The resistance to the impact and thegradual yielding of the front of the automobile body is as follows. Theresilient shell, ribs, and ties yield while the shell maintains a bowedshape that causes the shell to act in compression. Force is absorbed tostretch the spring ties, bend the resilient plastic and compress thefibers of the shell with the compressive arched force. After the limitof yielding of the spring ties is reached, further force can be absorbedby the pull on the ties until they break, if the ties are soproportioned that they reach their limit of deflection before the shellstrikes the roadway 38. The limit of the partial flattening of theshell, while maintaining an arched shape caused by either its contact tothe roadway 38 or by the spring ties holding after yielding, causes theshell 1 to resist as an arch without yielding materially, unless theforce is so great as to cause further yielding until the ribs bearagainst the arched sheet 34. The arched sheet 34 is confined andstrengthened by its relationship with the portions of the front of theautomobile body consisting of the channel 9, the channel 8a, the tiepost 22 with its connectors, and sheet 35. This portion of the bodyforms a lateral arched structure that is tied and stiffened by the hood6 and the motor 17.

The hood 6 is kept securely latched in position. The hood edging iskeyed to the top of channel 8a so that it tie the front of the bodytogether and can effectively transmit stresses. As shown in FIGS. 8 and11 the yieldable tie means 18c may be used to tie across the bow of thehood 6 to yieldably restrain the hood from flattening excessively whenimpacted during a roll-over accident, particularly in a modifiedconvertible automobile that does not have a strong roof portion. When acollision force almost flattens a portion of the shell 1 to the shapeshown in FIGURE 11, the ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 28b bear against thearched sheet 34. The tie post 22 behind the sheet 34 prevents the sheet34 from readily buckling. The corrugations in the sheet 34 and thecorrugated sheet 35 also restrain the sheet 34 from buckling. Pin 25ctransmits force from retainer 25 to brace 9b.

The brace 9b restrains the shell 1 from buckling and restrains thechannel 9 from twisting from the pressure against the convex surface ofshell 1 when the shell is flattened as shown in FIGURE 11. When theshell 1 flattens to the limit, the impact force is transmittedhorizontally through the intermediate portion of the shell 1 into theribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 28b, then into the tie-post 22 and from thereinto the channels 8a and 9. The brace restrains the tie-post 22 frombending.

The auto body members may be proportioned so the lower edge of the shell1 will spread down in flattening under a violent collision impact untilthe retainer shoe 25b strikes the roadway 38., Each retainer shoe 25bmay have a spike or offset 25 A spike 25 would tend to be driven intothe roadway 38 when the adjacent portion of the shell 1 isfiattened. Thelower edge portions of the shell 1 that are adjacent to the collisionimpact point will tend to yield and strke the roadway 38. The strikingforce of the retainer shoes 25b, the spikes 25 and the shell 1 againstthe roadway 38 transmits much of a collision force into the roadway,thus harmlessly diverting and absorbing it. When some retainer shoes25b, spikes 25 and portions of the shell 1 strike the strike the roadway38, which would tend to rapidly pro- 1 pel or hurl upwardly the portionof the vehicle adjacent to the collision point. The shell 1 and thegrappling hook-like offsets 27d and 28d on the ribs would tend to snagonto the bumper and the like of vehicles it collides with, thusinterlocking the two vehicles while the momentum presses them closertogether. When the ribs and shell 1 flatten they tend to lift theengaging portions of both vehicles-thus much collision force is alsoabsorbed in tending to lift the opposing vehicle.' The bracing 9b tendsto prevent the ribs and shell 1 from rupturing while they are highlystressed when raising both vehicles. When the opposing vehicle is soheavy that the lifting action cannot raise it, force is absorbed byfriction and rupturing of the engaging portions of the two vehicles. Theshell 1 and hooks 27d and 28d An automobile body of more limitedusefulness may be made without springs or ties across the chord ofshell 1. The ribs and/or shell 1 will spread and divert the forcesdownwardly to the roadway and upwardly in lifting actions.

The vehicle body shall may be made very thin so it is suitable to act asa curtain to protect the interior of the vehicle and the occupants fromthe weather, also to streamline the body to reduce air turbulence aroundit. Such a shell 1 may be made with very thin metal or with fiber glasswith a small amount of plastic. The fiber glass may be in eitherrandom-oriented or fabric form. The ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 2811 wouldtake the collision impact with the shell 1 yielding without materiallybeing stressed.

A safe vehicle body shall may be of stiff or brittle plastic. Thecollision force would cause the brittle plastic to crack when it isflattening, the reinforcing holding the cracked fragments together to anextent. The cracked fragments would act like stones in a stone arch tomomentarily resist in compression while diverting the thrust into theroadway 38 and into the lifting action before the shell collapses. Thebrittle plastic may be deeply scored on its concave side to cause it tocrack where it is scored when it is flattened to an extent. Considerableforce would be absorbed by the cracking and crushing of the brittleplastic.

A modification of the automobile body shown in FIGS. 1, 8, and 11 mayhave an end portion without a shell 1. The sheets 33 and 34 act as theshell portions of the ends of the vehicle body. During a head-oncollision, the vertical rib assembly formed with ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and28b would flatten under a collision impact. The shoes 25!) and spike 25would strike the roadway and cause the front of the vehicle to lift,thus absorbing force. The assembled horizontal ribs 32 would flatten andthus spread the force into adjacent vertical ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 28band into the whole vehicle body, therefore causing the whole body tocoact to resist a localized collision impact force. Such a modificationmay use the exposed ribs as grillage. Such a grillage would be bothuseful for safety and ornamental. This grillage would be an improvementover common grillage that is purely ornamental, very costly, and highlyvulnerable to damage by collision impact forces.

The vehicle body may be modified by omitting the horizontal ribs 32.

FIGURE 15 shows the typical roof and ceiling details, also the doorheader and the upper portion of the door 4. The periphery of the roofmay have resilient cushioning means to cushion impacts duringroll-overs. The side edges of the roof can yield and cushion collisionimpacts against them. Strong resilient curved steel bars 41 may beattached to the rigid framing 10a, 10b, and 100 to form a cushioningmeans. The ends of the bars 41 may be inserted into holes in the framingmembers. The dished roof shell may have an offset 5a to project out pastthe rigid framing to engage and cover the rods 41, to act with the rods41 to cushion impacts and to act as a trim. The roof edging willcushionably yield during roll-overs in either direction.

As shown in FIGURE 15, the end of the shell 5 is fastened to theresilient crimped steel tie sheet 42. The sheet 42 is attached to theouter face of the member 100. The end of the offset 5a is fastened tothe sheet 42.

During roll-overs, the shell 5 flattens to an extent when impacted onits intermediate port-ion. The plastic in the shell 5 compresses to .anextent from the impact force. The impact force is diverted into thearched directions of the shell 5.

The sheet 42 has crimps at right angles to each other, which allow it toyield when the shell 5 flattens. The sheet 42 can slide against the topof member 100 as it stretches. The vertical edging of the sheet 42,being fastened at the bottom, is allowed to bend, or hinge out.

There are fingers punched upwardly from sheet 42 to act as anchors forthe roof shell 5'.

The curved plastic ceiling panel 16 is curved in one direction to form asafety barrier, similar to that described in my patent No. 2,826,788.The sheet 42 acts as the tie for the panel 16 in addition to being a tiefor the shell 5. The panel 16 is fastened to the tie 42 and it may beattached as shown to the ribs in the shell 5. There is a gap between theend of the panel 16 and the member 100, to allow the panel to flatten toan extent when an occupant is thrown against it during a roll-overaccident. The shell 5 and the panel 16 may be connected with hanger-s orties 43.

The door 4 may have a curved safety barrier 44 built into its innerportion. The barrier 44 may be omitted when the occupants are restrainedwith seat belts and/ or safety barriers, such as those described in mycopending application Serial No. 97,658. The barrier 44 may have a catchor snubber to prevent violent rebounding of an occupant who is hurledagainst it during a collision. The barrier 44 has a transparent portionto allow visibility through the window. The bulb-like cushion 45 isattached to the member 100 at the door. The cushion 45 may be made ofplastic that is resilient enough to allow it to deflect without crackingwhen an occupant is thrown against it. It may be an inflated elastictube of rubber and nylon. The top of the barrier 44 will bear againstthe member 100 when the barrier is flattened by the force of anoccupants body that is hurled against it during a collision. The barrier45 spreads downwardly when flattening. The door 4 has a bowed shell,ties and tie posts similar to arrangement shown in FIGURE 8. The door 4has an angle iron 46 along its bottom. The tie posts 47 in the door 4are attached to the angle 46. The angle 46 bears against the channel 9.The tops of the tie posts 47 are rigidly fastened to the horizontalcross piece 48. The shell and ribs of a door 4 can flatten under acollision impact and divert force into the roadway 38 and into liftingaction, thereby allowing a door 4 to provide considerable protection forthe vehicle occupants, particularly for the occupant seated close to thedoor. The lifting action tends to prevent a larger vehicle from crushingand overriding the side of the safe vehicle body.

The shell of the door 4 may be braced to stiffen it when it flattens. Asshown in FIGURE 18, the pivotal links or braces may be used to stiffenthe lower end of the door ribs and shell when they flatten. The braces90 are mounted on the floor brackets 4901. There is a slot in the end ofthe brace 90 which engages the pin 25e when the door 4 is closed. Astiff wire tie 9d ties the brace 90 to the channel 9 to prevent thebrace from dropping when the door is opened. The tie 90! would breakreadily when the door flattens under an impact.

The floor 49 of the automobile stiflens the chassis channel 9,restraining the channel 9 from bending from the thrust of an impactagainst the shell of the door 4. The floor 49 may be ribbed to stiffenit. Since collision impacts are diverted and spread to large enoughportions of the automobile body to allow the forces to be absorbed, thedoor 4 has offsets 4a and 4b to engage grooved keyway-like portions ofthe shells 1 and 2, as shown in FIG- URE 16. These interlocking partsallow both tensile stresses and compressive stresses to be transmittedthrough the door structure. The latch 14 tends to hold the door shell inalignment with the shells 1 and 2.

A round padded steel bearing plate 50 may be securely mounted within thewheel to provide a large surface for the occupants body to bear againstduring a collision.

FIGURE 19 shows a fragment of a modified vehicle body shell. A shell orskin 51 is on the convex side of the plastic shell 1. Steel and aluminumare suitable for use as a skin 51. The tie wire 26 may be fastened tothe skin 51. This modification allows the use of the skin 51, with theplastic giving thickness to the shell to restrain it from buckling to anextent. The skin 51 may be made of fiber glass fabric, the fabric beingimpregnated with plastic. The skin 51 may be used as the shell withoutthe plastic 1. Ribs 27a, 27b, 28a, and 2812 along with the resilientties may be used effectively to cushion, absorb, and divert thecollision force with such an arrangement. Although these ribs are smallmembers, they are trapped and forced to transmit great collision forces.

FIGURES and 21 show a modification that does not have a shell 1 orspring ties 18. This modification has pin connected ribs 27a and 27 thatyield and flatten to divert a collision impact force. The rib 27e is pinconnected to the retainer bar 21b. The rib 27 is pin connected to theretainer bar 2511. Ribs may have grappling hook-like recesses, such asthe recess formed by hook 27h in rib 27 This modification is suitablefor the front and rear of a vehicle.

FIGURES 22 and 23 show a fragment of a modified bumper-like portion of avehicle body shell. A corrugated metallic shell or skin 52 is similar toshell 1. The shell 52 would be strong, light in weight, and low in cost.The shell 52 with its horizontal corrugations would spread a collisionimpact force so the safe body could more effectively resist the impact.The modified shell 52 may be welded to a bowed vertical metalliccorrugated or ribbed shell or skin 53. The shells 52 and 53 would coactto provide a yieldable strong bumper-like portion of the body. Theportion impacted by a collision could flatten under the impact, causingmuch force to be absorbed in the flattening action. Such a bumperportion could transmit a great force into the roadway. A groovedhardwood board 54 may be used on the outer extremity of the bumper torestrain the corrugations of shell 52 from being flattened locally by anobject it strikes.

Another modification (not shown) may have a bowed plywood shell with aribbed shell 53 attached to its concave surface.

The plywood bumper-like shell and the bumper-like shell shown in FIGURES22 and 23 would be particularly suitable for bumper portions of avehicle body such as those described in my copending application SerialNo. 721,150.

FIGURE 24 shows a modification that is a safe body for a scooter and thelike. The scooter 55 has a bumperlike front portion 58 and a bumper-likerear portion 59. The bumper portions 58 and 59 would be mounted similarto the bumpers described in my copending application Serial No. 721,150.The bumper portions 58 and 59 may have spikes and grappling hooks likethose shown in FIG- URE 8. The front portion of the framework of thescooter 55 is shaped similar to the front portion of a womans bicycle.This strong framework can support the bumper portion 58. The bumperportion 59 may be supported by the back 'of the seat. The bumperportions 58 and 59 are linked to the lower intermediate portion of thescooter S5. The lower portions of bumpers 58 and 59 are forked so theystraddle the wheels of the bumper.

The space between bumpers 58 and 59 form an occupants compartment thatwould provide considerable protection for the operator and a passenger.The flattening of the bumper 58 by a collision impact would cause thefront of the scooter 55 to rise and thus restrain the scooter andoperator from toppling forward. The high center of gravity of a rider ona common scooter tends to topple the scooter when it strikes a lowobstruction. The scooter 55 may provide additional protection by havinga vehicle occupant safety barrier 60 mounted on its seat. The barrier 60may be kept retracted until a hazardous condition warrants tripping acontrol to cause the barrier to spring into a protective position. Abarrier 60 may be similar to the barrier described in my copendingapplication Serial No. 97,658;

While I have illustrated and described certain specific embodiments ofmy invention, it will be understood that these are by way ofillustration only, and that various changes and modifications may bemade within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a vehicle having a body, said body having a substantiallyhorizontal cover portion means spanning at least an upper portion ofsaid body, said cover portion means including panel means bowedupwardly, said vehicle including a framework portion which supportsopposite end portions of said upwardly bowed panel means in a manner sothat said end portions are yieldably mounted to allow them to moveoutwardly away from each other towards side portions of said vehiclewhen the convex surface of said upwardly bowed panel means impacts aroadway as a consequence of overturning of said vehicle during anaccident to allow partial flattening thereof from said impact, saidcover portion means including yieldable force absorbing means forpreventing buckling of said upwardly bowed panel means from said impact,said end portions including side edge portions projecting outwardly fromsaid side portions of said vehicle, said yieldable force absorbing meansincluding means for cushioning a horizontal impact thrust of an objectagainst one of said side edge portions, as well as cushioning an impactthrust against one of said side-edge portions when it bears and pivotsagainst said roadway as a consequence of overturning of said vehicle.

2. In a vehicle having a body as recited in claim 1, wherein saidyieldable force absorbing means includes spring means projectingoutwardly from said side portions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,916,324 12/1959Graham 296-28 MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

A. HARRY LEVY, Examiner.

1. IN A VEHICLE HAVING A BODY, SAID BODY HAVING A SUBSTANTAL HORIZONTALCOVER PORTION MEANS SPANNING AT LEAST AN UPPER PORTION OF SAID BODY,SAID COVER PORTION MEANS INCLUDING PANEL MEANS BOWED UPWARDLY, SAIDVEHICLE INCLUDING A FRAMEWORK PORTION WHICH SUPPORTS OPPOSITE ENDPORTIONS OF SAID UPWARDLY BOWED PANEL MEANS IN A MANNER SO THAT SAID ENDPORTIONS ARE YIELDABLY MOUNTED TO ALLOW THEM TO MOVE OUTWARDLY AWAY FROMEACH OTHER TOWARDS SIDE PORTIONS OF SAID VEHICLE WHEN THE CONVEX SURFACEOF SAID UPWARDLY BOWED PANEL MEANS IMPACTS A ROADWAY AS A CONSEQUENCE TOOVERTURNING OF SAID VEHICLE DURING AN ACCIDENT TO ALLOW PARTIALFLATTENING THEREOF FROM SAID IMPACT, SAID COVER PORTION MEANS INCLUDINGYIELDABLE FORCE ABSORBING MEANS FOR PREVENTING BUCKLING OF SAID UPWARDLYBOWED PANEL MEANS FROM SAID IMPACT, SAID END PORTIONS INCLUDING SIDEEDGE PORTIONS PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID SIDE PORTIONS OF SAIDVEHICLE, SAID YIELDABLE FORCE ABSORBING MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FORCUSHIONING A HORIZONTAL IMPART THRUST OF AN OBJECT AGAINST ONE OF SAIDSIDE EDGE PORTIONS, AS WELL AS CUSHIONING AN IMPACT THRUST AGAINST ONEOF SAID SIDE-EDGE PORTIONS WHEN IT BEARS AND PIVOT AGAINST SAID ROADWAYAS A CONSEQUENCE OF OVERTURNING OF SAID VEHICLE.